Tainted Tastes rewritten
by Black Pearl
Summary: FINALLY UPDATED! Amid a controversial departing with her "tutor", Draco, Ginny finds herself unable to remember the events of the past couple of weeks. What promise did she make? And who is this Gini
1. Promises are made to be kept Part I

**Author's Note:** Hello! If you are reading this series for the first time, this story is the sequel to "Wickedly Delicious". You MUST read WD before reading this story in order to understand what is going on. If you are not new…welcome back! I'm glad you liked the first part enough to take interest in the sequel. I've been a bit lazy, but I'm trying to get my writing in gear. Hopefully, I'll be able to update on a weekly basis.

**Disclaimer: **The Harry Potter universe and the characters therein are not mine. Period.

**Update: **I ended up having to repost this because of an error. Basically, my mom (who's a big fan of mine, obviously) reviewed under my name. She wrote that I was the "greatest writer in the whole world" or something. Anyway, here I am sick, getting out of bed to check my email, and then I find a review with MY name on it.

I'm not going to lie to you, I freaked out. I didn't want anyone thinking that I was an egotistical crazy person, because I'm not, so I deleted the story. Don't worry, I still have backup chapters. Which is why I'm posting this. Sorry for the inconvenience. My mom is sorry, too. Apparently Xing is logging IPs so there was no way for me to explain in a review that the reviewer wasn't me. And unfortunately, lone author's notes are forbidden. I'm putting Chapter 1 and 2 together, that way, the chapter will be longer and less confusing. Hope it helps.

Onto the story! BP

**Chapter One: Promises are made to be kept (Part 1)**

Weeks had passed since Ginny's morning of naked humiliation, and it seemed she was, at least outwardly, her old self again. The buzz over her peculiar behavior was beginning to quiet down as well, though a few giggles could be heard here and there. Yes, she seemed to have been recovering after all. Despite the year's rocky beginning and interesting occurrences, it seemed that things would begin to steady themselves and that everything would go back to being just as uneventful as life could ever be for Ginny Weasley. Such an idiotic assumption...

_Remember your promise..._

Ginny had spent a good part of her Saturday morning in the Library. She had fallen behind in quite a few of her classes. This is understandable due to the fact that a period of her life was missing from her memory, including important pre-examination classes. Having filled her head with as many spells, terms, and definitions as she could stand and _not_ develop a nosebleed, Ginny slammed her books shut. As she stood and gathered her things, doubted very highly that she'd remember anything she just read an hour later.

Ginny trudged past the other students, all of whom were caught up in their own studies or conversations disguised as studying.

To her own surprise, Ginny found herself, walking, or rather drifting aimlessly past the rows of books, following a familiar path to the end of the library.

Before Ginny knew it, she was standing in front of the lounge. Ginny pressed a hand to the cold surface of the wooden door. She then reached for the doorknob. Turning it, she was half-surprised to find it open.

There was no light in the room at first, but after a quick "illuminus" the lights were lit, and the room seemed to come to quiet life. As she took a cautious step into the room, she observed that it had remained undisturbed since her meetings with Draco. Either that or Madame Pince was truly a woman of tidy habits. She felt torn between staying and leaving the room as she had found it. Ginny bit her lip. Maybe something here could help her account for lost memories. Perhaps, something in the empty room could explain what _really_ happened during that dreadful period following her chocolate overdose. Ginny drew in a shaky breath, and began backing out of the room.

There it was again, the laughter. Where was it coming from?

_Ginny...listen to me now, Ginny..._

"I should not have come here," Ginny gulped, "it was stupid of me."

At the clear sound of the door shutting behind her, Ginny felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She wasn't alone.

Ginnyturned reluctantly, but was not prepared for what she saw. She was standing face to face…with herself. This "self" was dressed in black. Low-cut black top. Long, slinky black skirt. Both of which complimented her black, empty eye sockets. _Don't scream…_

"Oh, don't mind me," the doppelganger giggled, "just having a look around."

The thing actually glided about the small room, humming to itself.

Ginny felt both dizzy and nauseated. Surely this wasn't happening. "Wha…what on Earth?"

"We're not on Earth, silly," the eye-less Ginny actually winked, "we're in that darling little head of ours."

_Ours? No, no, no! _"No, this isn't real. I'm dreaming! This is a dream." Empowered with new insight, Ginny pointed a finger at this dream imposter.

"Get out of my dream! Get out of my head!"

The doppelganger stared at Ginny for what felt like ages. It then went into a rather long fit of laughter.

"I mean it!" Ginny shouted.

At the command, the doppelganger was inches from Ginny's face. Ginny hadn't even seen it move.

"Oh do you?"

The imposter blinked, and finally, eyes appeared. Those were her eyes!

"Yes. This is my head and my body. You aren't welcome here."

"_This is _my head and my body and you aren't welcome here." The creature was imitating her perfectly. She then stuck out her tongue at the bewildered Ginny.

"Oh piss off! I'm staying here as long as I want."

The imposter actually put an arm around Ginny's neck.

"You see," it said, "I like it here. It's cozy. And there's so much for me to do. One thing in particular. Do you remember?"

At once the arm was gone and so was the doppelganger. There was just the phrase, "Do you remember? Remember the promise?" Being asked over and over again.

"No! What promise? I don't remember?"

The room disappeared, too there was nothing but blackness, and that damn question.

_Remember your promise? Remember your promise? _

Ginny awoke with a start. She was embarrassed at finding that she'd drooled on much of her notes. Yuck.

One note caught her attention immediately. It turned her blood to ice.

"_Hello Ginny! We're going to be good friends. _

_Love, Ginnine!"_

**Author's Endnote:** Yep, it was a dream sequence…mostly. Hope I didn't lose anybody. I expect to update as soon as I feel better and hopefully that will be tomorrow. Thanks for reading! BP


	2. The Strangest Things

**Author's Note:** Yes, yes, yes, I _know_ it has been forever since I've updated. School really takes a toll on one's free time. Thanks to readers (including my mom ) who keep insisting that I get off my butt and update. As for my beta, Amber, sorry about not getting back you (if you're still reading this) and hopefully I'll have a chapter ready for you soon. And I'm still very much alive in case you're wondering.

**Disclaimer:** Same as in Chapter 1, nothing's changed.

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**Chapter 2: The Strangest Things….**

"Hermione! Will you-ugh!" The grunt came as yet another heavy book was piled onto the load that Hermione was making Ron carry.

She and Ron, much to his dismay, had been in the library all Saturday morning looking through various books. As the day faded into the early afternoon, Hermione appeared to be just getting started. Ron, having nothing better to do, felt slightly obligated to lend a helping hand. This **did** involve Ginny after all.

However, he was beginning to think that Hermione's efforts were somewhat unnecessary. Ginny was _fine_ now. There was no sign of the "Gininne" nonsense that had nearly driven him mad and Ron wanted very much for it to stay that way. He couldn't help but feel that the deeper the two of them managed to dig, the more he wasn't going to like whatever it was they uncovered…and the more afraid he was of making things even worse for his sister.

"Hermione, I know we said that we wanted to get to bottom of what was wrong with Ginny…"

"And that's precisely what we're doing, Ron…"

"…Well I think…."

"…Oh! Here it is, 'Personality Alterations through the Power of Potions' by Gidious Humperdink. Hold this, please."

Hermione added this particularly bulky book to the collection that Ron was already holding. He felt his knees buckling. As he struggled along behind her, he was certain that if she piled on just one more book, his poor back was going to break.

"I'm glad you think I can carry a limitless amount of books, but Hermione, I don't think I can carry anymore. Especially not if I'm supposed to _see_ where I'm going."

"Fine." She nudged a wadding Ron in the direction of the their table, a gesture he didn't really appreciate, since he nearly fell over.

Hermione didn't notice. She was too busy trying to wrap her mind around what had happened to Ginny. Hermione didn't care if Ginny was "back to her old self". For her, it wasn't enough. There was no explanation as to _why_ Ginny began to act so strangely in the first place. It didn't help that the peculiar behavior stopped so suddenly, almost as if Ginny were awakening from a bad dream.

Hermione couldn't get that image of Ginny in the girl's dorm with Professor McGonagall out of her mind. Seeing her tearful, confused, and humiliated hurt Hermione deeply. Someone _did_ that to Ginny. Even though there was no definite proof as to who was responsible, she could at least find out what caused the behavior, if it might happen again, or worse, if there's a possibility of permanent damage. For Ginny's sake as well as for her own peace of mind.

Hermione was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of a heap of books bouncing off the wooden table in front of her. A few nearby students snickered as Ron drew a warning glance from Madame Pince.

"Ron," Hermione hissed, "those are valuable reading materials. I doubt you can afford to replace them. I know _I_ can't."

"Sorry," Ron muttered sitting down slowly, "It was either the books or my back."

Hermione sat down, taking the book, "Personality Alterations through the Power of Potions" from the top of the stack.

Ron was about to ask Hermione if she needed any more of his assistance when there was a small commotion at a nearby table. Hermione continued to flip through the pages of the book she had, but Ron turned to look. It was Ginny. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. He watched as she folded a piece of paper neatly in half and stuffed it into her bag. Without bothering to take the books that she had with her, she stood and began moving rather quickly towards the entrance to the library.

At the moment, finding out what was going on with his sister was a bit more appealing that continuing to be a source of labor. He decided to go after her.

"Hermione, I think I'm going to go. I'll see you later."

Engrossed in what she was reading, Hermione gave a small, "Mmhmm," and turned the page. Ron stood and walked away, shaking his head at what he felt was a waste of a perfectly good Saturday afternoon.

Ginny walked quickly down the hall, avoiding eye contact, determined to get as far away from the library and that horrible nightmare as possible. At least she _thought_ it was a dream, but she couldn't be to sure about anything anymore. And that damn note. Was it someone's idea of a joke? It wasn't very funny.

"Ginny! Wait!"

Ginny glanced over her shoulder, but already knew who was calling her. She really wasn't in the mood to talk.

Nevertheless, she slowed down and allowed Ron to catch up with her.

"Yes, Ron? What is it?" Her tone was a bit sharp, but she wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

"Sorry," Ron said when he finally caught up to her, although he hadn't done anything that he needed to apologize for…nothing that _she_ knew about.

"Ron, I've really got to get back to the dorm, I've got so many things to do-"

"I know you do, Ginny; you've been very busy lately. I've seen you, I mean, I haven't really seen much of you, and when I do, you've got your nose in a book."

"Is that bad?"

"No, I guess it isn't. But, I was a bit worried about you. I saw you in the library, and you look like you'd had a bit of a scare."

"I dozed off and had a bad dream," Ginny said with a shrug, "Blame it on too much studying. Anyway, it's hardly anything to be worried about. Really."

"Alright then, just making sure." Ron leaned over and gave Ginny a kiss on her forehead. "Now," he said, "since you've said it, I'll expect that when I get back to the Common Room, you'll be there, books in hand, studying like a good little girl?"

"Of course," Ginny said sweetly, "I live to be the good little girl that my big brother Ron can be proud of."

"If that weren't dripping with sarcasm, I'd consider it a nice thought."

"_**RON!** **Come quick!**" _

The pair looked behind them towards the library, where Hermione was frantically waving.

"Ms. Granger! I don't care how many hours you spend here weekly. This is still a library!"

Hermione turned and offered a quick apology, and then went back to waving for Ron.

"Well, I guess that means you're needed."

"Yeah," Ron sighed, "If that means what I think it means, I'm going to be doing a lot of heavy lifting."

"Bye Ron."

As Ginny headed away, Ron walked slowly back to the library. Whatever she wanted couldn't be _that_ important.

"Ron, will you hurry up!"

Or could it?

"_Ginny! Ginny wake up! Please wake up!"_

_The body in Harry's arms would not wake up, no matter how much he pleaded. She wasn't moving, she wasn't breathing, and she was very cold._

_What had happened?_

_He had walked into the crowded common room to find her sprawled on the ground, and no one had so much as screamed. _

_No one did anything…but talk and laugh and go about their business, as if there WASN'T a very dead young girl on the floor._

_Harry spotted Ron among the crowd, laughing with another boy about something inappropriate._

"_Ron! Do something! Call someone!"_

_Ron turned to Harry, a puzzled expression on his face. _

"_Why would I do that?"_

_Harry stared at him in disbelief for a full minute before lifting Ginny's limp form halfway off of the floor._

"_This is why! Ginny! Your sister Ginny is dead. She's not breathing, she's cold as ice…why the hell ELSE would I ask you to call someone. Go! Get help!"_

_Ron shook his head._

"_That's not Ginny, Harry. That couldn't possibly be Ginny."_

_Others around Harry nodded and murmured in confirmation._

"_Of course it's Ginny!" Harry looked around desperately, "Have you all lost your minds? Please! Someone get help!"_

_Hermione came forward and tapped him on the shoulder._

"_Harry, I don't know who you think that is, but it's not Ginny."_

_She pointed. "**That's** Ginny, right there."_

_Harry looked up and there was Ginny, sitting on the common room sofa directly across from where he was kneeling. "Hello, Harry," Ginny giggled, "What have you got there? Because that's certainly not me."_

_What did he have then? He looked down._

_It was a corpse. A red-haired, freckle-faced corpse…with no eyes. Just two empty sockets accompanying a broad smile._

_The thing reached up and touched his face. Harry couldn't move. Something wasn't letting him._

_It spoke. "We're going to be so close you and I," It said as it leaned up slowly, almost floated towards his face. "We're going to be together for a long time."_

_It kissed him. The sensation of its dried, icy lips was enough to make Harry scream…_

"Harry! Wake up!"

Harry was shaking all over. It took him a moment to realize that he was in the common room, and that it was empty. And there was no dead body on the floor.

He wiped the perspiration from his forehead as Ginny sat down next to him.

She had heard crying upon entering the Common Room and saw Harry. It seemed she wasn't the only one being plagued with scary nightmares.

"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked.

Without saying anything, Harry pulled Ginny in for a very tight hug.

"Harry, I'm happy that you're glad to see me, but I need to breathe."

Harry finally let go, exhaling deeply. That dream was too real. Just the thought of Ginny being dead and being that helpless shook him. And that creature...

"It must have been some bad dream," Ginny said with a whistle.

"Yeah," Harry admitted quietly. He was a bit embarrassed by the fact that he had actually been crying. He removed his glasses and wiped his eyes quickly.

"It's okay, Harry." Ginny said reassuringly, "If it makes you feel any better, I had a really scary nightmare myself, just a few minutes ago. I'd tell you, but you'd probably laugh."

"No, I wouldn't laugh."

Ginny bit her lip. He didn't know anything about the note, so what harm could it do? At least he would cheer up a bit.

"Well, it was really creepy. I dreamt that I was in a room, and I was about to leave when this thing came in. It floated around the room, even got in my face. And the really creepy part is that it looked just like me, except it didn't have eyes….it was so real that I-"

Ginny paused when she saw how pale Harry had become.

"I woke up with quite a start. I think I drew a bit of attention to myself. I was so startled by it that I ran off and left my books at the library. I really didn't feel like going back but I realized as soon as I got here that I'd probably have to. I can't study without my books can I?"

He hadn't heard anything else beyond her dream. It just wasn't possible.

"Ginny," Harry began urgently, "Are you sure about the features? What she looked like, her having no eyes…you're certain that's what you saw?"

"Yes," Ginny nodded, "Like I said, whatever she or it was, it was right in my face." She leaned closer to Harry, until she was so close, she could practically taste what he'd had for breakfast.

"It was this close," she stated, "there's no way I'd have see anything but what I did. It looked _just _like me, even sounded like me. And it…"

"What?"

Harry was too caught up in what Ginny was telling him to be bothered by her closeness.

"The thing had a name, I think. Gininne."

She moved away, "Everything has been so fuzzy these last few weeks, but I don't remember that name at all." She studied Harry's horrified expression. "Does it mean something to you, Harry? If so, please tell me."

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**And there you have it! Chapter 2. I'm going to be pretty busy in the next few weeks, but since I finally think I know where I'm going with this story I should (hopefully) finally get this thing updated.**

**And for those of you who are wondering, Draco will be showing up in the next chapter, when something very interesting will be revealed concerning the seemly innocent overdose (See Wickedly Delicious, "Overdose")**

**Thanks for reading and feel free to offer a review or comment, ask a question, or offer some helpful criticism. I know I need it. ;p**

**+ Black Pearl +**


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